Just got your keys to your first house? Great! So now you want to rent it out. Obviously for the best price lah. But that means renovating and furnishing your unit. You said you don’t know nothing about renovations and you have a VERY tight budget. How can I get the good rental but with limited budget? Yes you can. But first you got to know a few things first (no pun intended)

1. Know your potential tenants well.

This means you need to know who will rent your house or apartment and what is their budget. You don’t expect students to pay 2k for a room and executives just starting out to pay 3k for rents. Be realistic but optimistic. (Thats a good one) No use you put Bose Sounds system complete with 60 inch TV  but you could only fetch rents of 1k around the area. Whats important to them maybe a study table or a workstation or (gulp) cheap rent… so know your tenant profile.

2. Know your area well

This should be done before you bought your property, but in case you bought it because its low downpayment or worse because your friend bought it then do lots of homework and research on the area. See the comparables (units similar to yours) around the your area, and pay attention to the rental ads. What kind of furnishing is used, how extensive is the renovation, colour scheme (Ugly usually for average Malaysian DIYers), cabinets and beds etc. Get as much info as you can and if you don’t know what is important just take lots of pictures!

For most people buying their first Investment Property today more often than not is apartments or condominium units. Its the easiest to furnish and cost effective to renovate. Also, this will also focus on your medium cost apartment because thats the majority of property first time home owners go for. (Low cost apartments generally do not need much furnishing and renovation as the tenant group main concern is how cheap is the rent)

1. Concentrate on the your  first impression:  its VERY Important

When you first see a person for the first time, what do you see? You noticed how they look right? Are they good looking or not? And we tend to think of nice things towards good looking people, and the same goes for your house. That first impression is Crucial.

Make sure the moment a potential tenant walk inside your unit, you give them a good feeling. The entrance need to be clean, bright, usually with a strong statement or a wow factor like a Great Colour Scheme or Modern kitchen or Feature light. Concentrate on getting ONE thing to feature on your entrance.

Tip: Invest in one feature item in your apartment. Whether its the Lights, or Big TV or Great Feature Wall, focus on that item and make it wow. Not spreading your money too thin delivers more impact and achieve a better WOW factor.

 

2. Less on Kitchen Cabinets and Appliances

I see design magazines and TV shows all feature kitchen counters with multiple drawers and island counters and I am always Wow, but in real life these things don’t come cheap. What you need to do is practicality and functionality, have a few essential items like must have appliances like refrigerator, hood and hob and sink and tap. Contrary to common belief, the “value set” of hood and hob is usually more expensive than if you just use loose pieces, because they usually are premium brands and they have a “premium’ price. It doesn’t look As Good but with the right products it will fit  and match together.

Tip: You can use open shelf-ing on part of your upper cabinetry, not only it save cost but it only look good in photos IF you display some nice China (White plates on wood paneling seems to be Rage and in)

3. Use the existing electrical points provided by the developer

Wiring is super Costly nowadays and any sort of modifications to the existing layout of the electrical points will set you back. Anytime a professional enters your apartment they expect a certain “pay” to do work for you, some charge per trip charges on Top of the work they do. So work with the outlet the developer provided, even if its not the best.

Tip: Having said that, if work is really required, do look around your neighbours who is working on their apartment as yours, and see if their electrician that they use will do it at a lower cost. Because your neighbours are already paying them for to be their, then they don’t have to add in their cost for transport thus lowering the price!  Of course try to not piss off your neighbours if you do that.

 

4. Use contrast to make your apartment look Designed

People tend to go overboard with colours and furnishing, not only does it look inconsistent but it doesn’t have that designed appeal. Two colours with contrast works better and helps it looks great in photos. Think black and white, with a splash of bright colours in decorative items.

Curtains and Blinds plays a crucial part in the mood and feel of your apartment, make sure it works well with the rest of your house decor. Curtains is the usual go to option as it’s cheaper and there are more varieties. Get a colour that is light and airy usually like white or beige as it easier to mix and match than pokka dots and flower patterns.

Another thing that people overlook is the cornice of the apartment, it doesn’t cost much to paint it. Try to hire a painter rather a contractor to paint it for you, it makes a big impact.

 

 5. Go direct instead of contractors

We all know that the more layers involved in production, the more expensive it is the product. Contractors charge a premium because they have a crew of people to feed, expensive equipment they must pay top dollar for and that shining Rolex on his wrist. You can use workers for hires instead. Look for electrician, plumbers, furniture dealers directly to save thousand of ringgit on your property. Chances are the Contractors are using the sourcing from the same dealers anyway.

That being said, there are some genuinely good and reasonable ones around, I recommend only use them if you have the budget and less time to manage it the renovation yourself.  Ask around and compare quotes, the last apartment I renovated, I got 5 quotes before finally picking one.

Tip: Look at the contractor watch! 

 

6. Shop for loose Furniture and items on discount

Buy loose furniture, cut down on the built-ins, to save cost. Shop for pieces that look decent and is functional, you don’t have to spend too much on designer furniture to get a wow effect. Its more about the overall feel when they walk into the apartment, colours, placement, lighting and functionality is more important than the price tag of the sofa you put in your living room.

Tip: Ask! Buy from the smaller store to get better value, because they are competing with the big boys, they usually are more willing to negotiate. While they may have the same price but they will give you tips on what to buy and what works. I had one such experience previously when I was trying to buy a hood and hob for my apartment, the Tauke actually suggested to me to buy a induction cooker and a separate hood (RM988) instead of going the “Value Set” (RM1800) by the manufacturer. It save me RM812!

7. Decor with accessories

Please do buy and decor with pillows and plants. They don’t cost much and they made a HUGE impact. Get them from discount stores or dollar stores but make sure they look good, place a few on your shelfs or on the table they look fantastic, and you give your home a live in feel. Throw pillows on the sofa and bed to made them look premium.

Tip: Have a few worn books you don’t read anymore? Put in your apartment. Arrange it on the coffee table. Stack it on the kitchen shelfs, on the tv console etc. They are so versatile and diverse, you can practically put them anywhere.

8. Take Awesome photos of your property

Whatever you do to your apartment, do take many many awesome pictures of the it. Since most tenants pick a rental with their eyeballs using online property portal, make it look spectacular in the photos. Switch on all the lights, keep the windows open to make it look bright, airy and spacious.

Tip: You can do a bit of editing on your photos by adjusting contrast, and capture more of the floor in the photos if you want to emphasis size and floor space.

propertykid. Always Learning. Always Investing.